Clement Pappas was the fifth of six children born to the shoemaker of the village of Kaporelli, Greece. At an early age, he realized that life in a small village offered him little opportunity and worked to save passage to the United States. He arrived in New York at age 15 and was reunited with his two older brothers.

In 1921, after years of saving, the three brothers and a partner purchased land in Egg Harbor, New Jersey. There they grew tomatoes and squash and processed their crops in a cannary which they had built themselves. The canning business flourished to the point that they decided to phase out their large farming operation. They incorporated the food-processing firm of Pappas Brothers and Gillies in 1925. Shortly thereafter, the company initiated cranberry processing operations and pioneered the commercial production of cranberry sauce.

Desiring further growth, Clement Pappas sold his interest in Pappas Brothers and Gillies in 1942 and bought the Mayhew and Husted canning factory in Cedarville, New Jersey. Thus, Clement Pappas expanded and modernized his plant several times and added many new items to his canned product line.

With the death of Clement Pappas in 1967, the direction of the company was passed on to his two sons, Dean and Peter. Under their leadership, the business continued to expand. In 1970, the company began production of fruit juices in glass bottles. After a decade of unprecedented growth, the Cedarville plant had reached capacity in juice production.

In 1982, Clement Pappas Company purchased the Seabrook Foods' facility in Seabrook, New Jersey. The company tripled its production capacity by installing state-of-the-art food processing and bottling operations in the Seabrook plant. Annually, the company produces over 600 different brands of cranberry, apple, grapefruit, lemon , prune, grape and tomato juices in addition to a number of blended juice products. Clement Pappas Company also processes cranberries into jellies and sauces.

Today, with a capacity of over 75,000 cases of juice each day, Clement Pappas Company is the leader in private label juice and fruit products for U.S. supermarket chains, wholesalers and buying groups.